Across the harbour to Vittoriosa

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18th April 2026

Across the Grand Harbour from Valletta is an area known as the Three Cities – Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua. On our second day we decided to take a boat over to Vittoriosa. Of course, on our way to the waterfront we couldn’t help but sightsee.

We had a choice of going by traditional water taxi or the regular ferry. We chose the latter – both were dwarfed by the cruise ship next door.

The crossing was short but sweet – there were some very impressive yachts on the other side.

In the first area we explored, between the harbour and the main square, we found a cluster of churches. You will notice a lot of candles in glass jars – these were everywhere we went in preparation for an event that evening.

We were able to see inside St Lawrence – guess what? Another ornate church!

Statue of St Lawrence

We wandered through Victory Square and through a maze of alleys with some of the city’s oldest buildings.

Victory Square and nearby alleys

One of the alleys, Triq it-Tramuntana, is home to the 13th century Norman House. Abandoned and neglected for 30 years, it was purchased in 2000 by Charlie Bugeja who started its renovation and keeps it open to the public. It’s free, but donations towards the continuing work are appreciated. You can see Charlie in the doorway below.

Next we wandered along to Fort St Angelo, which had appeared in so many of our views from Valletta. Originally a medieval fort, the Knights of St John took it over and strengthened it in 1530. A multimedia production here gave us an excellent overview of Malta’s complex history which I’m not going to go in to here – suffice it to say it is known as the Crossroads of the Mediterranean and everyone has wanted it at some time over the centuries! The British were the last occupants of the fort (until 1979) which has now been beautifully restored by Heritage Malta.

Fort St Angelo from Valletta
Fort St Angelo entrance
Preparations for the evening’s candlelight event were in full swing here too.

From the top there were great views over the Three Cities.

Then we discovered we weren’t quite at the very top. A small staircase took us up to an area still held by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, including the Grand Master’s House and the Chapel of St Anne. It was beautiful.

Saint Martin
Chapel of St Anne
Grand Master’s House

Finally, we made our way back to the harbour to return to Valletta. The huge cruise ship was still there!

Valletta from the harbour

The next day was the last of our holiday and we went on another excursion, this time by bus.

Malta , ,

28 Comments »

  3. What a wonderful journey across the harbour! Vittoriosa looks like the kind of place where history, architecture, and waterfront views come together beautifully. I really enjoyed experiencing it through your words and photographs another destination to add to the travel list! ⚓✨

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  9. Outstanding photos and commentary on all the many places you saw and visited! Looks like there weren’t many people around to spoil your enjoyment of exploring the locality. I still can’t get over the size of those cruise ships!

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  10. A short ferry ride, another ornate church, a medieval house and a fort everyone seems to have wanted at some point.

    Malta does have a remarkable talent for making a few hours of sightseeing feel historically overqualified. 🦌

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  11. I didn’t make it to Vittoriosa so I was glad to get this chance to explore with you 🙂 The old houses and alleyways look very picturesque and the fort worth visiting for the views alone!

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  14. They certainly like their ornate churches don’t they? I like the St Lawrence ceiling and its pink dome, I wonder how many hours it took to paint that lot. In contrast I love the little shrine at Lascaris Wharf – simple, delapidated but still quite lovely.

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